Inspiring authentic transformation in people for a kinder, healthier world.

Category Archives: Passion & Purpose

“Whoever can see through [all] fear will always be safe.” -Tao Te Ching

Profound verse, isn’t it?

In a time of tremendous internal and external fear, I found Brenda Shoshanna’s Fearless: 7 Principles of Peace of Mind a breath of fresh air and very encouraging. Like the author, I believe that in order for us to change our collective consciousness of fear to that of love, we must learn to become fearless and find peace internally, primarily. Brenda Shoshanna, a practicing psychologist and therapist, discusses in detail her principles of peace of mind. They are: the courage to be who you are; letting go of attachment and grasping; recognizing the voices within; finding a safe harbor; blessing others: deeds of love; letting go of control and domination; and lastly, discovering your perfect nature: becoming a friend. The author then discusses what it means to live as a “whole” and healthy person. Additionally, in the last part of her book, Dr. Shoshanna supplies very practical steps to dissolve our fears so we can live peacefully and powerfully.

I found Fearless: 7 Principles of Peace of Mind by Dr. Shoshanna very helpful personally. I was reminded that if I want to live in a loving world, I must be the one who promotes peace by living with peace in my own mind. Living fearless begins with my internal thoughts and emotions. This book has helped me recognize my unconscious fears and taught me how to remove them (of course, this is a work in progress). I highly recommend Shoshanna’s book to anyone seeking to learn how to confront fear for what it is – a bully. This book is a keeper!

A bit about the author, Brenda Shoshanna, Ph.D.:

Dr. Shoshanna, psychologist, author and workshop leader, works with individuals and couples who wish to find relief from stress, anxiety, depression, loss, and relationship difficulties. She helps clients discover inner resources, engage in heathy communication and build uplifting, satisfying relationships both with others and themselves. She works with a wide variety of life problems and issues, from depression, anxiety and stress relief, to relationship difficulties, grief, loss and more.

She has lectured and taught psychological subjects at the New York State Psychological Association, Barnard College, John F. Kennedy Medical Center, The Center for Practical Nursing, Marymount Manhattan College, Adelphi University and more. Dr. Shoshanna has published five books about various aspects of psychology such as relationships, mourning, and personal achievement.

“The universe does not judge us; it only provides consequences, lessons and opportunities to balance and learn though the law of cause and effect. Compassion is the recognition that we are each doing the best we can within the limits of our current beliefs and capacities.” – Dan Millman

No matter what you believe about the universe, about god, or about what makes everything jive, Dan Millman’s The Laws of Spirit: A Tale of Transformation-Powerful Truths for Making Life Work will help you to navigate through life’s ups and downs, or its beauty and exhilaration, with grace and patience. Millman believes the universe operates within certain “laws of spirit,” and if we align ourselves with these spiritual laws, we will positively transform and live happier lives. The book is a parable – a fictional tale of the author meeting a sage in the mountains who explains to him the twelve laws of spirit: balance, choices, process, presence, compassion, faith, expectation, integrity, action, cycles, surrender, and unity. Each chapter is a conversation with the sage and a learning experience for those looking for a deeper perspective on life and all that it is and is not.

This short book can be read all at once, or it can be experienced by reading one chapter a week, a day, or even one a month. Each chapter is rich with spiritual insight. I have to admit that when I first started reading it, I found myself wanting to slow down and thoroughly ponder what was presented. I recommend this rich book to anyone who is looking for a spiritual perspective on life and a transformation of the self. It will demonstrate to you how to free the love trapped within you, so you could expand that love to the world in joyous service for the common good.

A bit about the author, Dan Millman:

Dan Millman is a former world champion athlete, university coach, martial arts instructor, and college professor. After an intensive, twenty-year spiritual quest, Dan decided to write sixteen books (so far), conduct workshops & seminars, and lecture influencing men and women from all walks of life including leaders in the fields of health, psychology, education, business, politics, sports, entertainment, and the arts. Dan’s thirteen books, including Way of the Peaceful Warrior, have inspired millions of readers in twenty-nine languages worldwide. The feature film, “Peaceful Warrior,” starring Nick Nolte, was adapted from Dan’s first book, based upon incidents from his life. Dan and his wife Joy live in northern California. They have three grown daughters and two grandsons so far. His work continues to evolve over time to meet the needs of a changing world.

To learn more about Dan Millman or to order The Laws of Spirit: A Tale of Transformation-Powerful Truths for Making Life Work, visit: PeacefulWarrior.com.

In the last decade, the Tiny House Movement has grown tremendously. More and more people are downsizing and embracing the simple yet rich life of minimalist living. Building their very own tiny house on their own land or in tiny house communities, people of all ages are finding unexpected gifts and freedom from living in these very small spaces. According to psychologists, the motivation behind the tiny house movement is the result of the ideals of environmental consciousness, self-sufficiency, and the desire for an adventurous life (all of which I can relate to). Dee Williams, author of The Big Tiny: A Build-it-Myself Memoir, is one of the pioneers of this movement. “I found a certain bigness in my small house-a sense of largeness, freedom and happiness that comes from when you realize there is no place else you’d rather be,” writes Williams.

In The Big Tiny: A Build-it-Myself Memoir, Williams details how she went from living in a three-bedroom bungalow with a detached garage, a fireplace, and gas heat to making the decision to build, sustain and live in an eight-four square foot (Yes, 84 square feet!) minuscule house! This experience and the results of her endeavor are nothing less than exhilarating, frightening, completely jaw-dropping and inspiring. Dee details her plans, explains her frustrations and fears, and takes the reader on her courageous journey in her memoir. I enjoyed her poignant, honest, and hilarious prose; furthermore, an environmentalist myself, I was encouraged to look at my own carbon footprint and consider tiny house living myself.

Having recently visited the Tiny House Jamboree in Colorado Springs, a three-day exhibition of tiny houses and information with the mission of motivating the public to live their passions through simplifying their lives and discovering what truly matters, I was amazed and inspired by the various types of tiny houses available for purchase at any level of the building process. Below is a picture of a “bigger” tiny house that I discovered at the jamboree. Tiny houses come in all sizes, shapes, and styles to fit any taste or budget. Truly, they are very functional and beautiful!

I highly recommend The Big Tiny: A Build-it-Myself Memoirby Dee Williams to anyone who even has a tiny interest or curiosity of what the Tiny House Movement is, and what it would be like to build and live in your own little house. Her story and writing is very inspirational.

A bit about the author, Dee Williams:

Dee Williams is a builder, teacher, author, and occasional rabble-rouser. She is the founder of Portland Alternative Dwellings, a company centered on the principle that everyone can build the life they dream. In addition to helping people make the conscious decision to simplify their lives with tiny-house living, Dee has been featured in Yes! Magazine, the NBC Evening News, the New York Times, NPR, MSNBC, and Time Magazine. Dee lives in Olympia, Washington, in her eight-four square foot tiny house, the magical place she calls, “home.”

To learn more about Dee Williams and the Tiny House Movement, or to purchase The Big Tiny: A Build-it-Myself Memoir, visit: PADtinyhouses.com.

A short, concise and very inspiring book (easily carried in a briefcase or small purse), you2: A High-velocity Format for Multiplying Your Personal Effectiveness in Quantum Leaps by Price Pritchett encouraged me to go after my dreams and omit the excuses! More importantly, the book helped me to realize that my dreams are in reach. And, yours are too!

you2 (squared) promotes an unconventional strategy for achieving breakthrough performance in everything you want to achieve. Pritchett presents this powerful method in eighteen key components and explains how these build massive success with expending less effort and bypassing the gradual and conventional methods. His books showed me how to “quit trying harder,” to think beyond what common sense would allow, and how to make a move towards my dreams before I feel ready.

I recommend this short book (which can be read in less than an hour) to anyone who needs inspiration, motivation and encouragement to take a leap towards their dream. If you want to be challenged and learn that you can attain your goals, read this book! If you find yourself living a dull life because you have settled for the “status quo” and have no idea how you will ever create a life of abundance, Pritchett’s book will inspire you to move and take action with faith and belief. It will show you how to take what he calls a quantum leap.

A bit about the author, Price Pritchett:

Price Pritchett is CEO of Pritchett, LP, a Dallas-based consulting and training firm with offices in numerous other cities and countries. Specializing in change management, corporate culture and merger integration, he holds a Ph.D. in psychology and is recognized worldwide as an expert on personal and organizational change. He has been featured on CNN, CNBC and other major television channels. Pritchett has sold over 20 million copies of his books and is one of the world’s best-selling business authors.

“Things that matter most must never be at the mercy of things which matter least.” – Attributed to Goethe

Abby Seixas in Finding the Deep River Within: A Woman’s Guide to Recovering Balance and Meaning in Everyday Life explains why it is vital to regard the things that we love to do as those which matter most. In a world that implicitly and explicitly encourages constant “doing” over “being,” hurrying and multi-tasking over living in the present moment, and as a result, propels us to experience everyday general fatigue, Seixas demonstrates how we can find joy and excitement in our lives. The “deep river within” is a metaphor for the soul-nourishing dimension in each one of us that flows beneath the business of daily life. With guidance, we can attain that which we all crave: balance and meaning.

I have to admit that I have recently been living an unbalanced and very stressful life. I have allowed myself to stop doing the things that bring me joy in the midst of what seems like never-ending responsibility and commitments. Finding this book was a god-send! As a result of reading about my “river” within in this book, I have decided to re-evaluate my busy lifestyle and commit to creating a life that will nourish my spirit and not take from it. I am committed to learning to slow down and truly live in the present moment. I am committed to doing that which I love again (blogging being one love!).

After describing the disease of the twenty-first century – the disease of “to do lists” and “a thousand things to do,” the author then thoroughly reveals the six practices that we must do to tap into our “river” in order to live joyful and meaningful lives: taking time alone, making and practicing boundaries, befriending feelings, taming self-expectations, practicing living in the present and doing things we love. I highly recommend this book to any woman who is struggling with finding time for herself in a very demanding world or any woman who is constantly exhausted, over-burdened or feels like she is going to lose her mind. Yes, it is worth your time to read Finding the Deep River Within: A Woman’s Guide to Recovering Balance and Meaning in Everyday Lifeby Abby Seixas. You will be glad you found the time to read it!

A bit about the author, Abby Seixas:

Abby Seixas has been a psychotherapist in private practice for over twenty-five years and has worked as a consultant and clinical psychotherapy supervisor at training centers in the United States and abroad, including England, Russia and the Netherlands. Her work focuses on helping women learn and practice the art of slowing down via her workshops, public talks, retreats, coaching, and her popular Touching the Deep River groups. Abby has appeared on The Today Show, and has been featured in O, The Oprah Magazine, Self, Fitness, Body + Soul, and Woman’s Day. She is the mother of two grown children and lives with her husband near Boston, Massachusetts.

To learn more about Abby Seixas or to purchase Finding the Deep River Within: A Woman’s Guide to Recovering Balance and Meaning in Everyday Life, visit: deepriverwithin.com.

I love coffee shops! I love what I see and find in them: people conversing, reading, writing, sharing, laughing, creating, enjoying, loafing around, and day dreaming. We need more of this in this very troubled world, don’t we? Yesterday, in one of my favorite hometown coffee shops, I experienced three things that touched my heart, and frankly, made my day! After having experienced these three things, I realized how important it is for all of us to experience them. Why? Because a heart on fire makes for a much-needed, kinder and more compassionate world! So, without further ado, here they are:

Make eye contact with people. Making eye contact makes the other person feel important and acknowledged. It tells them that they matter, that their presence is important. We all want to know and feel that we matter to others, even to strangers.

As I was entering and exiting the coffee shop today, several people made eye contact with me. It was simple and non-invasive. It was as if they told me, “Hey, good to know you are alive; we are both here, at this coffee shop, doing our own thing, and that is okay.” It was a simple nod that made me feel like I was acknowledged and that I mattered.

Give someone you don’t know a compliment. When we compliment someone, it is more about us than about the other person. It is giving without expectation, and when we do that, we always benefit. You know the old saying, “It is better to give than to receive?” Well, not to sound cliché, but it is true: when we give, we feel something good, and that “good” is what this world desperately needs.

After time well spent at the coffee shop, I decided to get something to eat at a nearby restaurant. As I was walking to my table, a woman very unexpectedly complimented my outfit. I have to admit that I was thrown for a loop! I thanked her and smiled. Her kind gesture put a smile in my heart, not only on my face. I felt acknowledged and that I mattered.

Tell someone what they mean to you. Everyone wants to know that they mean something to others. If you know someone who has positively affected your life in one way or another (even in a small manner), please tell them! We all want to know that what we do for others makes a difference to them. When we make a difference to someone else, we feel complete – we feel that our purpose on this planet is fulfilled. Telling someone they made a difference to us is simple. You can send an email, a note, a text, or make a phone call. What is important is that you let them know how pleased you are with them.

Today, during my time at the coffee shop, a friend emailed me to tell me I had made a significant difference in her life. I was a bit shocked to hear this because I had no idea! I was so happy that she had taken the time to tell me because it made me feel like I mattered and lit up my heart.

If everyone would do these three things every day, our world would be changed almost instantaneously! Just imagine it. There would be no time for bouts of anger, unrelenting fear, despair, racism gone wild, injustice, oppression of all kinds, tyranny, and unnecessary wars. The world would be transformed! We would all feel like we mattered, we would all feel acknowledged, and we would never doubt our worth and purpose in each other’s lives. Planet Earth would see a beautiful transformation starting with each person.

So, if you are like me and love to hang out at the coffee house, try these three things and observe how much better you feel. Heck, even if you are not like me and hate coffee shops, try these things wherever you are! Set your heart and someone else’s heart on fire. Do it because you matter and it matters.

Yes, I love them both; one is a beautiful Somali-type and the other is a gorgeous grey and white mix. Both are humorous, sensitive, affectionate, loving, fantastic, and I love them both equally. They have similar, laid-back personalities, but there is one part of the day (every day) that demonstrates clearly to me their innate differences: meal time! They are fed at the exact same time, but my grey and white guy, let’s call him “Tentative One,” thinks long and hard before he eats. He is hungry, and sometimes maybe famished, but he will ALWAYS wait and not eat immediately. My other cat, the “Little Lion,” a name she inherited since she looks just like miniature lion, immediately runs to her plate and gobbles up her food! She does not hesitate for one second. She knows it is coming and jumps at the chance to eat her portion.

So what is the big deal, you might ask? Well, the problem is that when Tentative is too tentative, Little Lion eats his share as well, and he is left with nothing to eat! Many times, I have to make sure she does not eat his food in addition to hers, and I have to nudge Tentative One to eat before she gets to his. Some of the time, he appreciates the nudging, and other times, he remains indifferent. I would say once or twice a week, Little Lion eats his food! Why does this happen consistently? Why doesn’t Tentative One learn that if he is tentative, he will miss out?

Like a cat waiting for his or her daily meals, the universe presents us with gifts every day. Some of us are hesitant to take what is presented while others jump at the chance. Why do we do this? All of us are guilty at being hesitant or of being too rash at times. While noticing the differences between my two cats, I realized that they still manage to get along with each other. There is a lot that we can learn from animals (at least from cats). When the universe presents something, we need to take it in faith. And, if we hesitate, someone else will snatch it – whatever it is. How many opportunities have I missed because I was the “tentative one?” Or, on the other hand, how many opportunities did I snatch too quickly and got burned because of my rash choices because I acted like Little Lion? It is easier said than done sometimes, but I prefer to be on the receiving end. Ideally, we should know when to jump and when it is best to think before diving in. However, I believe many times we think too much before taking action. I prefer to be like my Little Lion. She anticipates, she waits, she never begs, she does not fear, and when she sees it coming, she runs after it!

Now, I want to be crystal clear: I am not advocating stepping over anyone’s toes to get what you want or using any form of abuse to obtain your desires. I am simply advocating for all of us to learn a simple lesson: anticipate good things, know you will get them eventually, wait for them, and when they are presented, grab them. Many of us wait and then do not accept what is coming to us because we question whether we deserve it, or we think too long and hard about whether we should take it -whatever “it” is; and then, like Tentative One, we lose that opportunity that we desired and would have propelled our lives into a new, more exciting direction. Little Lion is courageous and she is the example we need to follow.

So today, let me encourage you to embrace your “little lion.” She is the part of you waiting to snatch that desire you have when it becomes available. Look around. Opportunities are everywhere. Make that commitment today to seize what comes to you so you can create the life you would love. Believe it. Seek it. Wait for it. And, finally, go for it.